The Soldier And A 220 Million Year Old Story

THE SOLDIER AND A 220 MILLION YEAR OLD STORY

In the rugged mountains of Ladakh, roughly North East of Kargil and North West of Turtok, bordering the LOC with Pakistan, is  a place unknown to most Indians.

It is generally known as the  the Batalik-Yaldor-Chorbatla Sector. Desolate, windy, strewn with boulders and rocks, snow covered most of the time and home to Indian Army soldiers who guard these heights 24×7, rain, snow, shine. Also located here is the Chorbat La pass, the traditional border between Baltistan (Pak occupied) and Ladakh (India).

Chorbat La (La=pass), as such, is  located at an elevation of 5,064 meters (16600 feet) above sea level. Its coordinates are 34°45'0" N and 76°34'60" E.

The general area has strategic implications and any incursions from here can turn the flanks of the Siachin area. Infact certain peaks here were captured as far back as 1971 and many years later Col Sonam Wanchuk had got his MVC in this very general area in 1999.

But this story is not about the exploits of brave men who remain awake guarding us, while we sleep peacefully.

This story begins 220 million years back. What we now know as India was an island floating off the coast of Australia. Around that time , this land mass started to move Northwards. It travelled some 6,000 kilometres before it finally collided with Eurasia round 40 to 50 million years ago. 

Then, part of the Indian landmass began to go beneath the  Eurasian one, moving the Eurasian  landmass up, which resulted in the rise of the Himalayas. Fossils of sea and coastal creatures can still be found in the Himalayas, as it was once two coast lines that merged together. These fossils not only provide evidence that the Himalayas once existed on a coastline, but also information about climate change and plate movement.

Some 45 million years later after the Himalyas had been formed, I was tasked to proceed from Kargil to Chorbatla. We had been told to extricate a  young soldier, probably from Ladakh Scouts (memory; time has taken its toll). He was to be dropped at Leh, some domestic emergency, and the powers that be had found it worthwhile to divert us enroute, pick him up and do the needful. Anyway, it was a first for me to this place we call Chorbatla. We landed, rotors running - the soldier hopped on and off we went.

CLOSE UP OF THE FOSSIL

After alighting on reaching our destination (Leh), he came to me and handed me a small piece of slate like rock. ''Sir , this is for you. It is a 'fern fossil' from our post''. 

Yes, the proof that this area which is now the barren high altitude Ladakh region in the mighty Himalya's, was once forested and not much above sea level, is in the fossilised remains of plants, ferns and sea creatures which are found there.

These fossils found in the Ladakh region belong to the middle-late Eocene period, anywhere between 45-33 million years ago, as confirmed by scientists at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun.

 My prized posession, thanx to a young Indian soldier

NOTICE THE TINY VIENS AND SHAPES OF THE FERN LEAVES

A THOUSAND YEAR OLD GANESH -- FOUND!!

HOW I FOUND A 1000 YEAR OLD IDOL

Ganesh Chaturthi took me back to my time at Talbehat. 

Field firing used to take place at Babina Ranges (how the armour guys loved to call it it the Biggest Armoured Base In Asia!). Deployment areas being limited, we had a choice  to do our drills, dummy occupations, deployments and dry runs along two axis. 

               Road Babina-Talbehat-Lalitpur; with Lalitpur having a huge abandoned  WW2 airfield, used in wartime as a refueling stop for aircraft moving Eastwards to the Burma front. I used to imagine the roar of Lancasters, Dakota C47's, B17's and of the times when the aerodrome was bustling with allied airmen and troops. Now just a broken down wooden ATC and a long runway, in a surprisingly good condition and cattle grazing . Spread around Lalitpur were also the many  granite quarries and wide open spaces for artillery drills.

              The other axis was along the highway, road Babina - Jhansi - Khajuraho. Babina is just about 230 km from Khajuraho. The area along the road was sparsely populated and had many ruins and decrepit villages.

             So one hot summer afternoon, as I stood beside my jeep at a vantage point, observing the gun group enter the selected 'gun area', I noticed I was actually on a small mound of rubble with bushes all around. As I looked around idly, I could make out a small cave like structure with stones and some mud baked bricks strewn around.

Interesting.

              As I walked to the centre of the bushy area, my driver warned me-- 'sabh, yahan par saamp  honge'.  We were aware that this entire area is infested with Vipers. Anyway, my curiosity got the better of me and I continued exploring.

            GREAT GUNS -- it was an ancient temple which had collapsed and was not visible. It had been lying undisturbed for a couple of centuries - waiting for a present day Livingstone! Just a pile of gravel and stones. It was then that I spotted the statue, half buried. I removed the dried grass, the muck, the mud and centuries old detritus and found myself staring at a sculpted statue of the same type and period as of the Khajuraho Temples near by. 

This one hewn from Sandstone, by some master  craftsman, who had done his time and gone to his heavenly abode, hundreds of years back.

           The Khajuraho temples were built between 950 and 1050 by the Chandela dynasty. Historical records note that the Khajuraho temple site had 85 temples by the 12th century, spread over 20 square kilometers. Of these, only about 25 temples have survived, spread over six square kilometers. But all around the area are many more less famous small temples. Many in ruins. I had stumbled on one of them. 

              The ''Ganesha" I held in my hand was between 900 to a 1000 years old!

The  statue is now my possession, ofcourse, a misdemeanor as far as the ASI is concerned. But it is in good hands.

          If you won't tell, I will also not tell!!

THE HELMET AND THE WATER BOTTLE

THE HELMET AND THE WATER BOTTLE : REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN SOLDIER

LOG BOOK EXTRACT

It was, I think Sept 1986.


I was a rookie pilot with barely 450 hours, flying with my Squadron CO,  a taciturn disciplinarian, accustomed to explode suddenly and grab the controls  after watching you struggle to keep the speed constant, height maintained and flying balanced; ball and string aligned (didn't they teach you anything, this aircraft flies with a tilt).

Anyways, it was  a long flight. We had taken off from Srinagar onwards to Kargil-Leh- Chalunka- Tangtse-Chushul.

There was an officer from 13 Fd Regt who was to accompany us to Chushul. He had been tasked by his unit to lay a wreath on the 13 Fd memorial there. It was the 'old boy' grid working and since his CO was a friend of my CO, a sortie was arranged ---- and there was another gunner CO located at Chushul who was a friend of both these CO's!!

We crossed the Zorawar Wall,  flew along the C 1 axis (yes, I was told that this axis is normally forbidden, being under Chinese observation), skirting and admiring Pangang Tso and finally landing at Chushul. All arrangements had been made by a local artillery unit. A welcome cup of tea was waiting and so were  a couple of jeeps and guides.
A good gunner friend of mine from the Advance Gunnery days had specially come to meet me.

T/O was after a couple of hours and while the CO and the 13 Fd  officer went off in one direction,  I thought it prudent to hop into the jeep with my friend who had agreed take me for a conducted tour of the area.

We drove around the desertfic terrain, over humps, mounds, hills --  as he pointed out all the landmarks including the old airstrip where US Airforce Hercules'  had landed in 1962.
And since I had wanted to see the famed Rezangla feature and the battlefields  around Chushul, my day was made. 
As we drove past some old defended locality, abandoned now, I noticed crawl trenches and half filled slit trenches dotting the gravelled type kutcha track on both sides. 

Valiant and brave soldiers would have made a stand somewhere around. 

So many years back. 

We stopped the jeep and stood quietly, looking around. Silence.
I picked up a rusted helmet and a water bottle, the canvas cover of which was now tattered and about to fall off. 
I still have it.

In memory of men  who were better soldiers than us.

How can a man die better,

            Than facing fearful odds, 

                               For the ashes of his fathers, 

                                And temples of his gods

A 11GR OFFICER AND HIS 1897 PATTERN BRITISH RIFLE REGIMENT OFFICER'S SWORD

A 11GR OFFICER AND HIS 1897 PATTERN BRITISH RIFLE REGIMENT OFFICER'S SWORD 

The story goes like this.

LT COL AJMER SINGH

After a pre-independence stint with the RIASC, my father in law, Lt Col Ajmer Singh, applied for a commission in 1949 and was commissioned in 5/11 GR. He later commanded 2/11 GR. After a distinguished career and subsequent retirement, he passed away in 2015.

Amongst the priceless memorabilia and photographs of his service days,  we came across his 'Officers Sword'. Leather scabbard and all.

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SWORD

On closer examination, I saw that the etching near the hilt where the blade meets the hand guard is marked "Guthrie Valentine London". 

Obviously this sword was made by Guthrie & Valentine of 12 Cork Street, Bond Street, London.

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ETCHING

A little research confirmed that there were a couple of sword makers who provided ceremonial swords for British officers.   The design is specifically known as the  "1897 Pattern British Rifle Regiment Officer's Sword". The design specified the blade as being 32 ¹⁄₂inches (830 mm) long and 1 inch (25 mm) wide at the shoulder, with the complete sword weighing between 1 lb 12oz and 1 lb 13 oz (794-822g).

The blade is straight and symmetrical in shape. Further, The last 17 inches (430 mm) of the front edge were sharpened when on active service (and a few inches of the false edge, at the back near the tip, to aid penetration). The blade ends in a sharp stiff spear point. Further, the description stipulates-:

Quote: "The blade is usually decoratively etched on both sides.The guard is a three-quarter basket of sheet steel. It is decorated with a pierced scroll-work pattern and has the royal cypher of the reigning monarch set over the lower knuckle".Unquote.

Check out the photographs below. Appears to be the real MacCoy. The manufacturers insignia, the crown (royal cipher) and the 'basket of sheet steel'.

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ROYAL CIPHER

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ETCHING

PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PIERCED
SCROLL WORK

THE SHEET STEEL GUARD

But --- a quick search on the net confirmed that there was no such  firm existing, here or in England! More research was required, and I had to scan through some net based archives/books. 

The London Gazette  of 08 May 1928 gives a public notice that the firm of Guthrie and Valentine was dissolved on the '31st day of March 1923'. It was established in 1796.

But the firm exists in a diferrent avatar. It now mostly makes high end apparel, shirts, clothing items.

Since these swords were standard British officers 'ceremonial swords', probably some of them were also available in some Regimental Centres and Military Furnishers in India. More so in various Gurkha Regimental Centres, since the British had for a long time not permitted Indian officers to be posted to Gurkha Regiments/Battalions. This could be a purchase from one of the Gurkha Centres which still had a stock of the 'Made In England' swords.

And if the firm of Guthrie And Valentine (Tailors And Military Outfitters) was dissolved in 1923, it stands to reason that this particular sword is a 'collectors item'. Manufactured pre 1923!

Priceless----yes!!

THE 10 SEPTEMBER 1965 EPISODE

THE 10 SEPTEMBER 1965 EPISODE

(The jeep used by Havildar Abdul Hamid of 4 GRENADIERS to destroy three enemy patton tanks (Courtesy - Photo Division of Ministry of Defence )




This article is not to discuss the battle of 1965 (Abdul Hamid fell here ), nor to discuss the orbat, wpns/eqpt, cdrs, trn and failings of those 3/4 crucial days when Pak 1 Armd Div was mauled by a combination of trn, good opposition by Indian armr and inf, and ofcourse concentrated and accurate arty fire.
And some good luck!!
The aim being to research how  Brig A R Shammi, the Pak Arty Bde Cdr died here and what happened to Maj Gen Nasir Ahmed, GOC, 1 Armd Div.

 Depending on who you want to believe (a) Shammi died as a direct result of Indian arty fire (b) He was killed by an ambush laid by 4 Grenadiers (c) Nasir Ahmed  too was 'seriously' wounded in the same incident (d) Nasir Ahmed was killed in the ambush (e) Nasir Ahmed was no where near the scene

So what had really happened ?? 

Maj Gen.Nasir Ahmed Khan, GOC, 1 Armoured Division,  monitoring the rather slow and unsuccessful progress of his Division (time line 08, 09,10 Sept 1965) from the air in a helicopter, spoke directly to the 4th Armoured Brigade Commander.

 I do not vouch for the authenticity of this radio intercept in its entirety, but apparently the move of the GOC was known to the Indians.The conversation was intercepted and was something like this --

Cdr: ‘It’s not possible for us to advance any further due to stiff resistance. Heavy enemy shelling has completely pinned us down.’

GOC: ‘It is most important that the advance is continued. Therefore, in the name of Islam, Pakistan and Hillale Jurat, I command you get up and go forward.’

Cdr: ‘I will do my best but as things are I do not know how the hell I am going to do that. This bloody enemy artillery is knocking the hell out of us and I am afraid at the moment that I can’t do any better then this.’

GOC: ‘Move forward to your objectives forthwith.’

Cdr: ‘I cannot move; Indians are ahead of me.’

GOC: ‘Come and see me immediately.’

Cdr: ‘Where do I come? I don’t know.’

GOC: ‘Move straight on and turn right.’

Cdr: ‘Do you know where I am? If I turn left the Indians get me, if I turn right the artillery gets me. Where do I come and how?’

GOC: ‘Turn right till you hit the road, follow it and you will find me at mile post 36.’

What we know next is that the GOC (Nasir Ahmed) accompanied by his Arty Bde Cdr (A R Shammi), then proceeded in a jeep to the front line where an engagement was already taking place.

NOTE: No corrections have been made, mis-spelt spellings/names are reproduced as in the original article. Given below are 14 stories relating to that fateful day. Take your pick.

Story-1 
In the Line of Duty: A Soldier Remembers
ISBN 193550178X, 9781935501787


 Lt Gen Harbakhsh Singh

 Story-2

TNN | Updated: Sep 4, 2015, 8:51 IST 

TOI(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/Our-valour-outclassed-Paks-modern-artillery/articleshow/48797493.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst%252529)

''On this day at 1300 hours, GOC Pak 1 Armoured Div, Maj Gen N Khan along with Brig A.R Shamim, C arty drove up in jeeps under the cover of tanks and Rcl guns He wanted to see as to what was stopping the advance of his  of his mighty formation. When they entered the defences they they were fired upon from close range and killed. The Pakistanis not only lost their GOC but also 97 tanks, out of which 32 were in working condition. After September 10, the Pakistanis stopped their advance and went into defence''. 

Story-3

War Despatches: Indo–Pak Conflict 1965

ISBN 1935501593, 9781935501596 

Lt Gen Harbakhsh Singh

Story-4 

A Gunner Remembers : With 1st Field Regiment SP (Meiktila) in Punjab -  Maj Gen Pushpendra Singh (Retd) Published: November 2015

(http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories4237_A_Gunner_Remembers.htm)

 ''Displaying wonderful shooting skills and a cool head under enemy fire, the rounds squarely struck the head of the target and some of the jeeps were struck while others fled away. Capt Mittal then directed the Sherman OP tank to drive to the kill area. Even as 8 Cavalry recovered the star-plates of the General’s jeep; the OP Party found that a Pakistani Maj-Gen and a Brigadier had been killed.

It was then that Naik Mukutdhari Singh of the OP Party exclaimed, “Arrey yeh to hamare Shamim Sahib hain!” Brig AR Shamim had been BC 50 Field Battery SP at partition, when he had opted for Pakistan Army. The GOC was later identified as Maj Gen Nasir Ahmed Khan. It becomes clear that Capt Mittal had hit Pakistan 1st Armoured Division’s Recce Group. Soon thereafter we intercepted the radio message by the GOC’s Rover, “Hamare sabse bade Imaam mare gaye!”

Story- 5 

Indian Army After Independence

 Major K.C. Praval

Story-6

Drummers Call

ISBN 978-93-88150-00-2

Lt Gen N S Brar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM

Story-7

Blog:Politically Incorrect Generally:May 12, 2018 - Assal Uttar 1965

(https://kulveersamra.wordpress.com/2018/05/12/asal-uttar-1965/)

Maj Gen.Nasir Ahmed Khan,Commander of 1 Armoured Division of Pakistan (GOC) watching the disintegration of his division from the air in a helicopter spoke directly to the 4th armoured Brigade Commander (BC);

GOC: ‘Turn right till you hit the road, follow it and you will find me at milpost 36-----

Maj Gen Nasir Ahmed Khan in fact, came down to meet his troops, and was killed in action''.

Story-8

Indian Defence Review Indo-Pak War 1965: Major Actions By Brig K Kuldip Singh  Book Excerpts: Kurukshetra to Kargil | Date : 02 Sep , 2015

(http://www.indiandefencereview.com/spotlights/indo-pak-war-1965-major-actions/)

Asal Uttar became the graveyard for the enemy tanks, where Pakistan lost 97 tanks, mostly Pattons. The General Officer Commanding of the Pakistani attack division, Major General Nasir Ahmed Khan, in his attempt to lead boldly from front, was wounded and the artillery commander was killed. Besides, a large number of Pakistan officers and men were taken prisoners. It was in this operation that the 4 Mountain Division, which had lost its reputation in 1962 Sino-Indian War (Kameng Sector), was able  .. 

Story-9

From Kutch to Tashkent: The Indo-Pakistan War of 1965 
Farooq Bajwa

Story-10

Wars, Proxy-wars and Terrorism: Post Independent India, By Peter 

Wilson Prabhakar

Story-11

Themes of Glory: Indian Artillery in War By Darshan Khullar

Story-12

Prepare Or Perish: A Study of National Security
By K. V. Krishna Rao

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Brigadier Ahsan Rasheed Shami Shaheed....Hilal e Jurat